This paper outlines the design of an autonomous flying vehicle (AFV) for use in researching formation flying. Specifically, we have designed a small autonomous model helicopter as a reference vehicle. Once several more units have been constructed, these vehicles will form a test bed for formation experiments. In this paper various design decisions are presented as well as results from early testing of the reference design. A novel approach to relative localization within formations using just a single downward-pointing camera is discussed.